


Too Much

by jackscrutchie



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Crushes, Cute, Fluff, Grumpy Crutchie, Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Romance, is he thirsty idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-06 16:07:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11039619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackscrutchie/pseuds/jackscrutchie
Summary: Crutchie is grumpy and pining and about to snap.





	Too Much

**Author's Note:**

> I'm pretty happy with how this one came out -- I really hope you enjoy!

Enough. Crutchie had had enough! He must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Everyone was just being – Too much. He’d expected today to be a good day. He always expected it to be a good day. Maybe that’s why it got to him so badly when it wasn’t. The headline was hard to sell, and for whatever reason, no one wanted to buy from him away. He’d gotten scoffed at and avoided more than usual all day. Damn his leg. Sometimes people were almost afraid of him because of it. They feared if they got too close, they would catch whatever disease he had. Normally those people didn’t bother him… But today – Today it seemed everyone was avoiding him.

Although by some miracle, he managed to sell all but 6 of the 50 papers he had bought that morning. Thanks to the strike, he was able to sell them back. But no, that’s not where it stopped. Something had to be in the air. All day he’d seen pretty boys holding hands with girls. They’d pass by him, giggling and carrying on – Talking about love. Usually he loved seeing people being in love. But today – It was too much. He was tired of seeing couples walking together. He was exhausted by the amount of kisses he’d seen pressed to lips and cheeks and foreheads and hands. He didn’t want to deal with it anymore.

He tried Jacobi’s Deli. Some handsome guy brought his lady a bouquet of bright red roses. He tried the park. There was a girl picking flowers and putting them in her man’s hair. He tried the shaded alley he liked to relax in. Two men had taken refuge there, their mouths connected – Hiding from the world. Crutchie groaned and huffed away. Down the street, around the corner and towards the lodging house. Just in time to see –

Jack. He was walking away from an apartment building, a girl in a robe waving after him.

“See ya, ‘round, Mr. Kelly.” She smiled, blowing a kiss in his direction.

Jack turned toward her and grinned, cocky. He tipped his hat and winked. “So long, sweetheart.” He covered his heart with his hand for a moment and watched the woman disappear behind the door. He had a bounce in his step as he stuck his hands in his pockets and started walking down the busy street.

“Ughh..” Crutchie leaned against a wall, making sure he was out of sight. He was used to this – Jack liked to flirt. He liked to… He flushed a bit, his lips turning down into a pout. Why couldn’t Jack flirt with – This was too much! Why Jack? Why did Crutchie’s mind always wander to Jack? Why has he felt this way for such a long time? Why couldn’t he move on? Why was Jack the only one he’d ever… He kicked a rock, frustrated. His face was pink and his heart was beating out of his chest. It was fine – He was used to this. But it was…

Too much.

He had to get back to the lodging house. Maybe he could get a bath in and get to sleep early tonight. He started down the street again once he was sure Jack was long gone. He kept his focus straight ahead, trying not to pay attention to the couples passing with their arms linked. He tried to ignore the flower shop where a man paid for a beautiful white rose. He ignored the young couple sharing some sort of ice cream float. He passed a church – Of course there was a happy couple there talking about memories from what he could only assume was their wedding. He tripped.

Of course he tripped. He stumbled to the ground and skinned up his hands, catching his fall. His leg seized up. Agony. Tears stung his eyes and he pushed himself up and tried to stand.

“Oh, sweetheart. Are you okay?” The woman walked carefully towards him, concern laced into her brows.

“I’m fine.” He snapped, turning to meet her eyes. “I –” She seemed… Genuine. “I’m sorry.” He smiled a bit, forcing himself up and hiding the pain in his face. “Yeah, I’m okay…” He bent down, strain starting to show on his face and he picked up his crutch. “See?” He shrugged his shoulders. “Good as new!” His lips spread into one of his signature smiles, and he beamed.

The woman tilted her head and smiled, appeased. “I’m glad. Try to be more careful, alright?” Crutchie noticed the bump in her stomach now. It was motherly instincts. It was how a mother was supposed to react.

“Yes, ma'am.” He took his hat off and nodded his head at her. This was too much.

She waved at him, he turned to leave. God his leg… His smile faded after each step. It hurt so bad now – Just something else to add to his wonderful day. A few corners more and he was home. He had to rely on his crutch a lot more – He was moving slower, but he made it. He walked in, trying to be fine. He was trying to make himself smile but – He opened the door.

Spot and Race were having a moment, saying goodbye for the night. Crutchie wondered if they could… Breathe. It didn’t look like they had much time for it… He groaned and pushed past them, ignoring Race when they finally broke apart.

All he wanted was a cool bath. He wanted to go to sleep and wake up tomorrow. It would be better tomorrow.

“How’d you do today, Crutchie?” It was Blink’s voice calling out from one of the bunks. “Sell all yer papes?”

Crutchie stopped for a moment, and put on a fake smile. He turned toward him, his smile quickly fading. Mush was asleep in his lap, Blink’s fingers were laced in his hair. “No.” He clipped his word and stormed off without another word, leaving Blink to wonder what he had said.

He was done. The bath wouldn’t even be worth it. He’d go up to the penthouse, tell Jack he wasn’t feeling well and go to sleep without another word. He was quickly out the door and up the fire escape. His leg was in extreme amounts of pain and sweat was building at his temples from the extra effort he had to put into climbing because of it. It was too much. He tossed his crutch over the ledge before pulling himself the rest of the way up.

Jack was there, his toned arms sleeveless, his suspenders dangling at his sides. Too much. Crutchie felt a knot in his throat. He felt heat rush to his cheeks, and the pain in his leg seemed for vanish for a moment. The entire universe was against him today. Nothing wanted to go right.

“Hey, Crutchie.” He smiled at him, running a paint stained hand through his dark locks. “Welcome home.”

Crutchie’s mind was swimming, his heart was racing. His feet… They were moving.

“You have a good day?” He reached down to grab a ratty wash cloth to clean the dirt off of his face. There was lipstick on his jaw that was almost hidden by a bit of scruff.

Too much.

His feet were still moving, his mind was cloudy now – He snapped. He dropped his crutch and limped to close the distance between them, his mouth finding Jack’s immediately. His arms wrapped around Jack’s center, his fingers pressed into his back. He’d never done this before. He had no clue what he was doing but – His lips moved against Jack’s and he pulled himself as close as he could get.

Jack steadied them, and hesitated for only a moment while his mind processed what was going on. Crutchie was kissing him and it was – Heaven.

Crutchie felt Jack’s arms wrap around his waist, pulling him even closer if that were at all possible. He continued doing what felt right, not stopping for even a second. He let himself get lost in the kiss, he let himself be consumed by it. Crutchie’s hand reached up, his fingers laced through Jack’s hair. It was soft… Just as soft as he had imagined it would be. He felt Jack’s hands slide down from his sides to rest on his hips as he deepened the kiss. Jack’s lips moved with ease against his own. It was no wonder girls liked kissing him so much – Despite not having anyone to compare him to, he was incredibly good at it. He could feel himself melting into Jack, falling deeper and deeper into the moment by the second. One of Jack’s hands moved up again, finding a sliver of exposed skin at Crutchie’s waist.

Too much.

Crutchie shoved him, their lips pulling apart. Jack stumbled back completely stunned. His handsome face was tinted pink, his breath came a bit heavy. Crutchie turned his back, snapping back to reality. What did he do? What the hell just happened? His freckled cheeks and the tips of his ears were bright red. His heart beat so fast, his head was spinning. He stretched his fingers out at his sides, trying to think his way out of this. It couldn’t have happened. He didn’t do that. No. No no no…

“Char..lie?” Jack’s voice was hushed and Crutchie’s heart skipped a beat, hearing his real name come from Jack’s mouth… Especially after what had just happened. He swallowed hard and bit his lip.

He turned to face him, willing his face to lose the red color. He smiled, then cleared his throat. “Yeah?”

“You…” Jack raised a brow, taking a slow step forward. “You okay?”

He responded quickly, taking a step forward to move around Jack. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Jack spun to keep his eyes on him. “What… Was that about?”

“What was what about?” Crutchie looked at him, feigning innocence. “Did you have a good day? Sell all of your papes? The headline was awful. I had a rough time, myself!” He was rambling, trying to distract Jack. Trying to keep the conversation on something completely different.

“Charlie.” Jack walked to him, reaching out to touch his cheek. “Talk to me.”

He pulled back, “I am talkin’ to you, Jack.” He forced a laugh and swallowed again. He could feel the heat returning to his face. “You not hearin’ right?” He ducked around Jack and limped over to sit in his little spot of the penthouse. “You should maybe get that checked out.” He pulled off his hat, then his vest. He forced a yawn. “Ya got lipstick on your face.”

Jack started and covered his jaw, quickly wiping the pink marking away. He sighed and walked over to him. “You… You know what I’m talkin’ about.” It almost seemed to be turning into a game. He knelt down next to him and Crutchie shifted, trying to escape once again – But Jack wasn’t having it this time. He grabbed him gently by the shoulders and firmly held his gaze. Crutchie’s eyes glistened with the threat of tears. Jack smiled, tilting his head. “That was bold.” A gentle laugh. “Didn’t think..” He paused and reached up to push a bit of sandy hair behind Crutchie’s pink ears. “My little Charlie had somethin’ like that in him. But you’re just full of surprises ain’t ya?”

Crutchie couldn’t pull his gaze away from him. He got lost in his eyes all over again. Why did he do that? “I –” What could he even say? How could he fix this? How was he going to handle hearing Jack turn him down. He knew it would be quick and he knew that Jack would do it gently – But… “I’ve been… I had a few drinks. I – I’m sorry.” He couldn’t lie to Jack.

“Yeah?” Jack grinned and nodded. “You been drinkin’? That’s funny… Because I recall you tellin’ me once, that you were never goin’ drink.” His voice was so kind.

“I –” Crutchie dipped his head down, his hands beginning to tremble. “I’m real sorry, Jack.”

“Hey.” Jack tilted his head down to meet Crutchie’s eyes again. “What’re you sayin’ your sorry about?” He pulled him into a warm embrace, his hands rubbing soothing circles into his back. “You got nothin’ to be sorry for.”

“Just – Don’t say nothin’ okay? Just let me forget I did it.” He didn’t fight it. He let the tears fall, soaking into Jack’s shirt.

“Why?” He leaned his head down, pressing his cheek into Crutchie’s hair.

Crutchie closed his eyes, listening to Jack’s heart. It was beating almost as fast as his own. “Because that was… I don’t know what that was. I don’t know why I did that.” He did know why. But at the same time – Why did he do that? He groaned, burying his face in Jack’s chest.

“Well, I don’t want to forget.” Jack pulled him closer. “You know –”

Crutchie sniffed, and tilted his head back nuzzling into Jack jaw. His scruff scratched lightly at his freckled skin, his nose wrinkled. He waited for Jack to continue, letting himself calm down.

“What would you say if I told you that I’d thought about doin’ that same thing?” He held him closer.

“I’d say I didn’t believe you.” Crutchie took a breath, and reached around to return Jack’s embrace. He couldn’t imagine being desired. How could anyone want someone like him? Especially someone like Jack – He could have anyone he wanted. He saw just that earlier today. He wasn’t interested in girls, but he knew the one Jack had been with was extremely beautiful. Someone like Jack deserved someone beautiful. Someone flawless. Someone more like him. Not some broken, dirty boy.

“Well, you should.” Jack continued rubbing at his back gently. It was so tender, so intimate it made Crutchie’s cheeks burn once more. “Because it’s true. Come on, Charlie…” Closer. “Would I lie to you?”

Maybe this was just another passing thing for him. Maybe he just wanted to show Crutchie pity – Maybe he was pretending just to spare Crutchie’s feelings… But was Jack really like that? They’d known each other for so long. Crutchie had been in love with him for years and years. He knew him better than that. Jack wouldn’t play with his feelings like this. Was this real? Was he dreaming? “You don’t – Have to pretend, you know…”

“Pretend? I ain’t pretendin’ nothin’.” He laughed, but there wasn’t a hint of malice. “Charlie –” He pulled away gently, cupping Crutchie’s face between his hands. “You and I both know I ain’t the… Smartest guy out there…” Crutchie smiled. Jack’s breath caught. “Yeah, laugh at me all you want.” He rubbed circles into his freckled cheek and smiled back at him. “It took me too long to figure it out – And I’m sorry for that but… I’m here now and so are you.” He leaned forward to press his lips to Crutchie’s forehead. “I want to be with you. I want to take care of you.” He held his gaze. “I want to hold you like this – Every single night.”

More tears fell from Crutchie’s green eyes, but his smile lit up the darkening penthouse.

“I want to do this.” He wiped a tear away with his thumb. “I want to make you laugh. I want to hold your hand.” He kissed away another tear. “I don’t want to pretend that I don’t count your freckles at night. I don’t want to pretend that I don’t watch you when you ain’t lookin’. I don’t want to pretend that I don’t think about you when I can’t sleep.” Jack smiled, watching the words sink in. “I want to kiss you, Charlie. No one else.”

Crutchie laughed, reaching up to hold onto Jack’s hand. His face beamed, his heart sang. “You… You’re so…”

Jack smiled and kissed him again, soft and sure. Crutchie leaned into him, his lips curling into a smile around Jack’s. Stars glistened above.

It wasn’t enough.


End file.
